1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for signmaking and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for additive signmaking.
2. Background Art
The signmaking industry was revolutionized by technology invented and implemented by Gerber Scientific, Inc. of South Windsor, Conn., a common assignee with the present invention. Several inventions relating to signmaking are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,537,135 and 4,467,525, which disclose an apparatus for printing and cutting signs on sheet material. Such signmaking apparatus includes a computer for storing image data and a printer which, based on the image data, applies colorant onto a vinyl sheet material adhered to a backing sheet. Once the desired image is printed, the sheet material is then transferred to a cutter machine. The cutter cuts through the vinyl sheet material around the contour of the image, leaving the backing sheet intact. Subsequent to the cutting operation, the unwanted vinyl material is removed or weeded from the sheet material. The desired image is subsequently applied to a transfer sheet and then to the final product.
Although the above-described method and apparatus have enjoyed great success and popularity, there are several drawbacks. First, the weeding process results in a significant amount of non-recyclable waste. Additionally, the weeding process is labor intensive and time consuming. Furthermore, the weeding process can reduce the quality of the finished sign, because when the excess vinyl material is weeded, the sign image can become damaged. Additional difficulties associated with transferring the printed sheet material from the printer to the cutter include proper alignment between the printer and the cutter. Moreover, the cutter must be properly calibrated with respect to the printer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,837 to Adair entitled “Method of Fixing an Image to a Rigid Substrate” discloses a method of fixing an image to a rigid substrate coated with a thermally tackifiable coating. More specifically, the patent discloses a process wherein the image is printed onto a transfer film, the image bearing surface of the transfer film is then joined in pressing contact with a thermoplastic coating which has been warmed to a softened or tacky state. Once the thermoplastic coating is cooled to a hard, durable state, the transfer film is removed, leaving the image securely affixed to the rigid substrate. However, the process disclosed in the Adair patent has limited use. The Adair method is not practical, for example, for generating a sign for a car door. More specifically, the whole car door would have to be coated with the tacky material with the image then being transferred onto the coated door. However, once the image is adhered, the image will be surrounded by additional polymer, resulting in background haze around the image. Therefore, although the Adair patent provides an alternative to conventional signmaking, the Adair method is limited and is frequently impractical.
Another shortcoming of conventional signmaking is that the signs are not sufficiently durable for many purposes.
Although automated signmaking has significantly improved the time consuming process of manual signmaking, it is still desirable to further simplify and improve the signmaking process by eliminating the waste resulting from weeding and by generating a more durable image.